GM considers battery rental scheme for new Volt

To keep the price of the upcoming Chevrolet Volt electric car low, GM execs are contemplating a rental scheme for the car’s batteries so that it costs no more to buy than an equivalent petrol car. GM is planning to introduce the Volt by 2010 and has more than 150 engineers working on it to ensure the car will have a range of 40 miles running on the batteries alone and that this performance would last at least ten years.

Renting out the extra cost of the complicated battery system is one way to increase the appeal of the cars. One of the major sticking points surrounding electric cars like the Volt and Prius is the extra expense of the technology, which many consumers are not willing to absorb yet.
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1970toyotamarc - 8/13/2007 3:53:13 PM

0 Boost

What kind of nonsense is this??? Buy a car, but rent its power source? What do you do when you decide not to rent the batteries for a month, leave the car in the garage?

Thnaks to Autospies, I just learned that GM has a vice president of quality. They need a vice president of common sense.

moto - 8/14/2007 3:06:51 AM

+1 Boost

Seems to me that a battery trade-in program is necessary to ensure that all of the old ones are properly recycled. Moreover, there are a large number of consumers who are (for whatever reason) willing to lease just about anything. One would hope that GM offers a purchase option instead of yanking back their hardware at the end of the lease as they did with the EV1.

Build it, GM, and offer several different powertrain and battery options. You'll see tuners all over the place turning this into an amazingly popular urban vehicle.

JimmyD - 8/14/2007 6:44:33 AM

+1 Boost

I like this idea. It seems to represent forward thinking and planning. These are 2 things it is nice to see coming from the General. It also seems socially responsible.
Most lead based auto batteries today are recycled. It is usually behind the scenes, but the materials are recovered and reused. This takes the uncertainty about the end of life disposal out of the consideration.
What is going to happen to the batteries in the current generations of hybrid when they reach end-of-life? Anyone have a hybrid and know what the terms are on your battery? I am guessing you own it, which means you own the issue of disposal also. Please correct me if I am wrong.
By renting the battery out, GM maintains the responsibility for disposal, and does not try (at least up front) to dump it on the consumer or the government, which we know is not prepared to handle it.